Real Estate New York

Up^Tw^ha^erd

GROWTH

Tr_endPROSPECTS FOR THE BOROUGH

EXTEND BEYOND

LONG ISLAND CITY

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Worries about the health of the financial services industry may be prevalent in Manhattan, but the uncertainty hasn’t dampened enthusiasm—or growth—across the East River. “Queens is still continuing its upward trend in real estate,” says Franklin S. Zuckerbrot, president of Sholom & Zuckerbrot Realty. “So like the New York City marketplace that had a very strong 2007, the first half of 2008 in Queens is demonstrating strength, certainly through transactions. We anticipate that the second half of ‘08 should continue that.”

Brisk sales of office and industrial properties, the mainstay of Long Island City-based S&Z, are not the only positive sign for the borough. There are also acres of development, both under way and forthcoming—and not all is in Long Island City, where, as Zuckerbrot put it, “The skyline has been transformed so dramatically in the past 24 months.”

A catalyst for redevelopment in eastern Queens was the rezoning
last September of 368 blocks of downtown Jamaica, the largest re-
zoning in city history. The area is home to John F. Kennedy Inter-
national Airport as well as the Air Train leading to the airport. As a

By Paul Bubny
Editor

result, much of the redevelopment planned for Jamaica will take ad-
vantage of the area’s role as a transportation hub.

The benefits from the continued growth of air travel and transportation extend beyond Jamaica. Figures released earlier this month by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that Queens residents saw the city’s fastest growth in wages last year, thanks in large measure to the traffic in and out of Kennedy and LaGuardia Airports. In fact, nationwide Queens County was second only to Clayton County in Georgia for wage growth in ‘07. Not coincidentally, Clayton County is home to Atlanta’s Hartsfield International Airport.

However, it’s another type of flight that Greg Smith, vice president at JRT Realty, is seeing among office tenants leasing up Court Square Place, the class A tower JRT manages in Long Island City. “People escaping Midtown rents that average $100 per sf are flying to the outer boroughs for spaces like we have on the market for $45 per sf,” he says. “With city incentives, it drives the per-sf price down to about $28. So it’s such a phenomenal economic advantage for Midtown tenants. And it’s only one subway stop from Manhattan.”